As efforts ramp up to help the public appreciate new underwater parks off the Southern California coast, state game wardens on Sunday reported the first major violation in the protected areas since they were expanded Jan. 1.

The California Department of Fish and Game said wardens saw a 30-year-old Riverside County resident and a companion scuba diving in the Laguna Beach State Marine Reserve after midnight on Jan. 15. The spot, near Heisler Park, had been closed to lobster harvest before the latest safeguards were put in place.

Wardens said the divers collected 47 California spiny lobsters. Even if they had caught the creatures in a legal area, the divers would have been in trouble. They were over the possession limit of seven lobsters each and all but five of the lobsters were undersized, state officials said.

The Riverside diver who claimed responsibility for the lobsters was cited for poaching but his companion was not. The Fish and Game Department said the lobsters were photographed as evidence and returned to the ocean.

“The vast majority of our fishing and diving constituents are responsible and law-abiding,” Paul Hamdorff, the department’s assistant chief, said in a statement. “It is always our goal to catch those who choose to intentionally abuse the resources of this state for their own benefit.”

The protected areas were created under the Marine Life Protection Act of 1999 to simplify and strengthen existing safeguards and to boost populations of sea life. Many fishing groups criticized the process, which they felt was stacked against them from the start and which took away prime fishing spots. However, environmentalists are hopeful that the changes will help increase nearshore biodiversity.

One of the big questions in the reserve-setting process was how well the expanded reserves would be regulated by a state agency whose agents already were stretched thin before the no-take and low-take areas grew.

On a related note, two events in coming weeks are designed to help San Diego County residents learn more about the marine protected areas.

The conservation group Wildcoast is planning to celebrate the new underwater park at the mouth of the Tijuana River from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Feb. 4 at the Tijuana River Estuary Visitor Center, 301 Caspian Way, Imperial Beach.

The free event includes a talk by an expert on protected areas from the Scripps Institution of Oceanography and a nature walk in the estuary. Organizers said each person who attends will get a raffle ticket for a chance to win kayak tours in San Diego, surf paddle lessons and tickets to the Birch Aquarium.

In addition, the Sea Life Aquarium in Carlsbad is holding its fourth annual “Underwater Parks Day” from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Jan. 21. The event is part of an effort by Southern California aquariums “to explain the need for marine protected areas that replenish fish populations and restore the health of coastal waters.”

SEA LIFE will host kid-friendly activities including prize giveaways, a special underwater dive show, an educational craft event, a conservation expo with hands-on exhibits and more. The cost is $15 for kids ages 3 to 12, and $20 for adults. Parking costs $5. For details, visit www.sealifeus.com or call (760) 918-5346